The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-12-03


precious stuff everywhere. but not IN
sufficient quantities to pay.
Again he is up on that cliff. How
did he manage to scale those porpen-
dicular walls which form itsssidesP 1t
seems as though nothing but bird
could find foothold, and yet there he
is dancing wildly around something
that glitters In the sunlight like an en-
ormous ball of silver. That pile is ore,
rich In silver and lead. He has Just
dug 1t out of the ground. Is 1t any
wonder, then, that he is in an ecstacy
of delight. for it seems as though he
had struck II rich at last A little as
sistance from capital is all he requires
now to become millionaire. He sits
down for moment and stares toward
the east with yearning look in his
soft gray eyes, He is thinking, per-
haps, of the home OF his childhood
and how he has met with success Mt
last He leaps into the pit again ana
digs away for dear life. But the walls
of the lode have suddenly come togeth-
er. It was merely pocket OF ore,
and will never make him rich or any
body else; and fortune, who seemed so
near to him a moment ago, is as far
away as ever.
The 'pincllng out" of that lode on
" dsheartenes our prospector for
moment or so, for there he Is now driv-
ing tunnel at the foot Of that granite
boss. There is q fine lot Of ore lying
ut the mouth of the opening. 1t is
sugary, comfy, drusy quartz, and is
sprinkled here and there with gold.
Carefully examine the granite walls OF
the lode and see how clean they are.
The most skillful workman could not
have made them so smooth or polished
them half so well. Observe those Shin
ing punches of crystals there in the
heading, q sure sign that the vein is
live one. 1t is six feet between walls.
and the lead matter averages $40 per
ton. 1t is surly rich ledge, and the
miners fondest hopes may yet be real
lied.
But who are those two men who have
lust come over the crest OF the hui
above the tunnelp 1t has no cover and
there is paper containing some writ
ing fastened on the inner side OF Its
bottom. They are Misunderstanding
pair these two, and are there for no
good purpose. See how they crawl
along on their stomachs. They conduct
themselves as though someone might
see them and make target OF their
worthless carcasses, but nobody molests
them. They have come to halt, set the
box down on its end. and piled loose
rocks around it to keep 1t in place. and
then sneak off the way they came like
a couple of cowardly coyotes, which
they closely resemble.
These two worthless belong to that
disreputable class known here in the
west as "claim-jumpers." They have
been sent out by some covetous specu'
lator who wants the earth and who
sticks at nothing to get it. or at least o
large slice OF it, He has learned IL
some way of this promising prospect
and has engaged those wreches to posi-
a notice thereon claiming the property
There will be a fierce dispute over i
now. The matter will be brought into
the courts, and will probably be SETTLED
some time in the next decade. 1t vii
be conflict of the friendless and pen
niless against the rich and influential
Might and not right generally wins il
,, such cases not through any fault o
those who administer the law, but be
cause of the poverty of the rightfu
owner and law itself.
, Such is tho real life of gold-hunter
except in a few cases. After years o
: exhausting toll and just when his effort
? arc about to be crowned with success
! others step in and steal the fruits OF hi
i, labors or by trickery and fraud real
. the harvest which he has sown. Thos
who so wronged him are so highly hon
ored and respected in the communitie
4 where they reside, while he who tlrs
planted the standard of civilization Il
The western wilds, and won vast EN-
pire from the wilderness, steals into al
9 unknown grave.
>-~-
o Mistook the Meaning.
s Cowboy to Photographers wan